Guest David Collins Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Help needed! Last night had disturbing problem, whilst driving a total electrical failure occured, the engine cut, lights out etc. All that remained was the hazards and radio, this occured intermitendly 5 or 6 times until it all stopped for good, As I was going around a rounabout at the time it all got very exciting! AA called - no good, had 12.5 volts at battery ( only renewed last week) but nothing at the fuses or ingnition switch. It occured to me that this could be the the immobiliser that was at fault, it is a Cobra, does this sound feasible?. I don't actually know where the immobiliser is situated so that isn't much help. Vehicle is a Weinsberg Toskana 2.5 TD. LHD I now have the vehicle at home (in Surrey) after hot wiring a lead from the hazards to the ignition switch, this got it home but i need to find a motorhome friendly specialist to sort it out, does anyone have any recomendations for repairs please Hope somebody can help regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John T Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 David, To help people will need to know the base vehicle type. I have a Cobra system and it is supposed to be disabled once the engine is started so that the engine cannot be stopped whilst you're in motion. Best of luck, John T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David Collins Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Good point, Fiat Ducato 2.5 Turbo Diesel. I only think that it may be the Cobra as when the engine started to cut out intermitendly the immobiliser light was flashing, like when the immobiliser is on and armed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clive Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Sounds a bit more basic to me. Most alarms go into ALARMED mode if the power is removed and reapplied. Otherwise they would be too easy to a potential thief. Check the wiring to the back of the main fuse box etc. You may well find some rather burnt insulation which could be a good clue. Perhaps the wiring harness has got trapped somewhere? Oh yes, the wiring to the KEY SWITCH and maybe in-line connector. A basic vehicle wiring diagram would steer and competant sparky to look in the right places. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David Collins Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Following my original email, I had an 'electrical friendly' colleague come to help. After stripping out the alarm system and not finding any obvious problems I was aked what is 'that' in the glove box. A small clear pastic dome, and inside 2 fuses... a 30 amp and a 1amp, yes the 30 amp had blown, replaced everything worked! dooohhh!!. As i have no manuals with the vehicle (Weinsberg Toskana 200 LHD) I have no idea what this small fuse box does, possibly something to do with the split charging as I have a similar box on top of the leasure battery box, behind the drivers seat although this one has 3 fuses in it. Although this has enabled the vehicle to start I am not convinced this is the problem as when it started the engine was cutting out intermittently (for 2 to 3 seconds) until it finally stopped for good, surely a fuse can't be intermittent, so this makes me think the original problem is still not cured, so its a pocket full of 30 amp fuses from now on Thanks for your comments regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David Powell Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 It sounds to me that you may have an earthing/bonding problem, perhaps between the engine and the chasis, causing a break in the failing circuits. I am not an electrical expert by any stretch of the imagination, but it sounds like a problem I had with a car some time ago, and it was the earthing/bonding that was the fault. If I remenber correctly I think the electrician called it a 'dry joint' {what ever that implies} Good luck, hope you clear it soon, at least it is not an electric sunshine roof that opens everytime it rains! but that is onother story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David Powell Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Hello again David, an old motor caravaning, retired garage owner pal of mine dropped by and I told him of your electrical woes [he hasn't got a P.C.] This is what he would check next. As you and your electrically minded friend have thoroughly checked everything over and found nothing seriously wrong, but the fault re-occurred with the same symptoms. Perhaps the previous owner {assuming there was a previous owner] gave the 'van loads of TLC. and possibly cleaned all the electrical connections including those on the negative return braids, spade plugs and various other joints etc.etc.and lovingly smeared them with a little grease, which is common practise. Maybe he used LUBRICATING grease, and not electric TERMINAL grease! If it is lubricating grease it is non conductive and can thin when warmed and run between the joint surfaces and insulate the circuit. It may not be that at all, but it is another suggestion. My pals philosophy always was "check out what is the cheapest to put right first" Good luck David, I hate electric, it is invisible !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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